No profit from environmental damage and child labor: A majority of MEPs spoke out in favor of this. But there are also critical voices about the planned law.
According to the will of the European Parliament, companies in the EU should in future pay more attention to the fact that their products are manufactured in accordance with human rights and environmental protection.
Today in Brussels, 366 MEPs approved the planned EU Supply Chain Law, which would oblige large companies to protect human rights and the environment along their global supply chains. According to Parliament, 225 MPs voted against and 38 abstained.
Among other things, the draft directive stipulates that companies in the EU should be held responsible for child or forced labor and environmental pollution by their international suppliers. It is also planned that companies can be held accountable in European courts if they fail to do so.
More companies in the obligation
The new rules will apply to EU-based companies with more than 250 employees and a global turnover of over 40 million euros. According to the draft, parent companies with more than 500 employees and a worldwide turnover of at least 150 million euros are also included.
Depending on the size of the company, the regulations should be applied after a transitional period of three or four years. In addition, companies are asked to draw up climate protection plans to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
positive reactions
The approval of the parliament is an important step towards fairer supply chains in the world, praised the Supply Chain Act initiative. The decision creates the conditions for “protecting human rights and the environment where it is worst: at the beginning of the supply chain,” emphasized Michelle Trimborn, spokeswoman for the initiative.
Anna Cavazzini, Chair of the EU Parliament’s Internal Market Committee (Greens), said: “The EU Supply Chain Law is groundbreaking and will finally put a stop to environmental and social dumping in our supply chains. The EU is finally taking responsibility for the global impact of our actions .” MEP Helmut Scholz (left) described the vote as an “important stage win”.
SPD MEP René Repasi emphasized that Parliament’s position goes beyond that of the EU states. “We prevented an exception for the financial sector, as was pushed through in the Council, against the resistance of conservatives and right-wing extremists and thus thwarted the massive lobbying of banks and investors,” said Repasi.
From the point of view of Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD), the planned guidelines will create fair competitive conditions throughout the EU, since European companies are all equally bound by the obligations. Many women in the partner countries also benefit from the regulations; they are “often affected by precarious working conditions” above average, said Schulze.
Critical voices
Criticism came from the CDU/CSU group in the European Parliament, among others. The draft law is too extensive, the companies are threatened with a huge bureaucratic effort, said the chairman Daniel Caspary (CDU) and the co-chairman Angelika Niebler (CSU) in a joint statement.
“The directive threatens a regulatory patchwork quilt that will pose additional challenges for companies.” The supply chain law in its current form does not contribute to making European companies more competitive.
FDP trade politician Svenja Hahn called for the risk-based approach to be considered even more closely in subsequent negotiations. “The focus must be primarily on products from countries and markets that pose a real risk of human rights violations.” The parliamentary proposal creates a large number of new requirements, reporting obligations and legal uncertainties for companies.
The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) also criticized the draft law as lacking in practicality, proportionality and legal certainty. “The supply chain law burdens companies with a new and incalculable liability risk: they are expected to carry out checks that are beyond their own scope of influence,” said DIHK President Peter Adrian on Wednesday. Supply chains often consist of several hundred, sometimes several thousand companies. As a rule, however, only the direct supplier is known to a company.
The EU states had already decided on their position on the project at the end of last year. Parliament and the Member States now have to agree on a joint compromise. In Germany, a supply chain law for companies with at least 3,000 employees has been in effect since the beginning of the year.
Source: Stern
